Letter From Kani Yilmaz - May 19, 1

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu
From: kcc at magi.com (kcc)
Subject: Letter From Kani Yilmaz - May 19, 1995

Kurdistan Committee
Brussels, Belgium
Press Release 2

May 19, 1995 

We received the following letter from Kani Yilmaz, the former
European Representative of the National Liberation Front of
Kurdistan (ERNK), who is in Belmarsh Prison - maximum security -
just outside of central London. It follows for your perusal
verbatim:

The Kurdish People Will Be Free In The Very Near Future

     I have been incarcerated in this country for seven months now.
No reason has been given for my imprisonment, as I am not guilty of
any crime. I am a victim of a gross miscarriage of justice. The
time has come for the courts to either charge me or release me.
     The treatment that I have been subjected to is clearly
directed against the Kurdish people's struggle for freedom and
justice. The Home Secretary took the decision to have me arrested
at the request of the Turkish regime, a regime which recently
published an assassin's list of names of people they deem to be
supporters or directors of "terrorists", a regime which is turing
our country into a living hell on earth. Britain is overtly
supporting a racist, barbaric, military regime in the name of its
own "interests". Meanwhile, the massacres continue in the killing
fields of Kurdistan, with British support, both military and
political.
     Time and time again, we have expressed our willingness for
dialogue and political solutions. Time and time again, we have
indicated that a humane resolution of this conflict, recognizing
the democratic rights of the Kurdish nation, is to the benefit of
the Turkish people as well. We have called for peace and we have
called for the brotherhood of peoples.
     But the Turkish war monster, living on a diet of blood now
that it has the Kurdish people in its jaws, wants to deny us our
existence by murdering us. The history of our people is a living
memory to this brutality. The European countries who take a
position against us embolden the monster and allow it to unleash 
its savagery on our people.
     The Kurd has no name. The Kurd has no language. The President
of Turkey, Suleyman Demirel, says "the Kurd has no rights". The two
Turkish daily newspapers,  'Hurriyet' and 'Milliyet', together with
Turkish television have undertaken a mission to galvanize the
masses for war. Turkish op-ed writers together with their
correspondent colleagues based in Europe have made it their raison
d'etre to denounce and threaten those who may be suggesting a 
democratic solution to the question.
     Thousands of villages have been destroyed, displacing over two
million Kurdish refugees. Thousands of people have been murdered by
members of the contra-guerrilla. Kurdish politicians have been
imprisoned, others are in exile. Fires are raging all around
Kurdistan. Bombs have fallen all over the land. Torture and many
other unthinkable forms of repression continue. 
     To counter this, the Kurds have undertaken a legitimate war of
self-defense. They have also made a proposition for peaceful co-
existence with the Turks. They said they were ready for an
international solution to this conflict.
     Because I myself have called for these proposals, I now find
myself in a cold and empty room, a British prison cell. To call for
co-existence and brotherhood is rewarded with a prison term.
     Germany is not after me because I was involved with the
activities that I am accused of, but rather because I was a
representative of the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan
(ERNK). This became obvious when I had the chance to flick through
the prosecution's documents prepared by the German authorities. It
admits there is no evidence linking Mr. Kani Yilmaz to any of the
activities noted by the prosecution, neither written nor verbal.
But still the German authorities want me extradited. Why? The
answer is simple. To support the Turkish regime, to try and
criminalize the Kurdish struggle for freedom and justice. Neither
Germany nor Turkey will listen to reasonable arguments.
     I would like to say one thing. Soon, in the very near future,
the Kurdish people will be free. History will not allow such crimes
against humanity. One day soon, Turkey's crimes will be exposed.
Secondly, the Kurdish people now have nothing to lose and
everything to gain. Those who have imprisoned elected
representatives in Turkey and Kurdish politicians in Europe will
soon have to answer the question why. Why did you ignore and cover
up this barbarism that is being perpetrated against the Kurds? You
will be called to account for your actions and you will do so with
some embarrassment.
     For our part, we will continue to defend our people's
legitimate struggle for freedom and justice. We will also continue
to call for a peaceful and democratic solution which will allow
Turks and Kurds to live together in peace and freedom.
     We have nothing to do with "terror". That is the what the
Turkish military practices. The struggle that is unfolding in
Kurdistan has been the struggle of millions of Kurds in the face of
unimaginable oppression and exploitation. It's a struggle to defend
the values of humanity.
     I want the people who are accusing me of wrongdoing to be
aware of all these facts.
     I await an outcome to my predicament.

Kani Yilmaz, ERNK
May 19, 1995